


(hey baby) kiss the single life goodbye

by Murf1307



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Eve, Developing Relationship, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family Reunion, Friends to Lovers, Helicopters, M/M, Mistletoe, Moving In Together, Niagara Falls, POV Character of Color, Taxes, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-05-19 05:29:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14867523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Murf1307/pseuds/Murf1307
Summary: Alex proposes to Darwin in order to get in-state tuition at his dream college.  They elope to Niagara Falls. From there, pining ensues.





	1. yes, you can get hitched in a helicopter

**Author's Note:**

> Note, this chapter contains references to a threesome between Scott, Jean, and Warren.
> 
> I’m not sure where this is going, but here we go.

"We should get married."   
  
Of all the things Armando has never expected to hear Alex say to him, that has to top the list. They've been close for a while now, especially after the shit that went down last year with Xavier, Magneto, and Shaw, but it isn't like they're together, or anything.   
  
The look on his face must be priceless, because Alex has a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth like he's trying to be serious and failing.  "Like, to commit tax fraud."   
  
"Why?"  Armando has no idea where Alex is going with this.   
  
"Cheaper housing, better FAFSA applications, that kind of thing."  Alex rolls his shoulders a little, almost ambivalent, but in that careful way that Armando knows means that he really, really isn't.  "I mean, I could get in-state resident tuition rates at colleges and stuff, too."   
  
He's clearly put a lot of thought into this.  Huh.   
  
“You lookin’ at a school in-state, then?” he asks.     
  
“Yeah.  Old Landon, down in the city.” He cracks his neck.  “They’ve got a geophysics major. Only one in the country.”  He moves over to the couch and plunks himself down next to Armando.  “But out-of-state tuition is a bitch.”   
  
“So, your plan is to marry me to get out of it?” Armando grins, honestly a little charmed.   
  
Alex nods.  “Yeah. You’re a life-long New Yorker, so your hypothetical spouse would get in-state as long as they lived near you or with you.”  He shrugs. “I did some research. It’s actually super easy to fake, honestly.”   
  
Armando laughs.  “So, what? We get married, move in together, and then you get into college?”   
  
“Basically, yeah,” he says, nodding.  “As long as we stay married a couple of years, we’ll be set.” Alex grins, just a little.  He’s  _ trying _ to be charming, doing everything but batting his eyelashes.

Thing is, it  _ works. _  “Okay, sure,” Armando says, chuckling.  “When’s the wedding?”

 

* * *

 

The  _ wedding _ , it turns out, is literally two days later.  They head up to the city clerk’s office to get the license, which goes off without a hitch.  Alex gets antsy when he’s reminded that they have to wait 24 hours to actually  _ get _ hitched, and fuck if that’s not the cutest thing Armando’s ever seen.

So, Armando suggests: “You wanna go get married at Niagara Falls?” 

The long drive will kill some time, and hell, it might even feel a little romantic.

Even though it’s definitely not.  Really. Honest.

“Yeah, sure.”  Alex grins a little.  “D’you wanna do rings?  Should we get ‘em there?”

Armando nods.  “Yeah, I figure, if we’re going to elope, we better give everybody here the slip.”  He’s teasing, but honestly, he just wants to have this to themselves for a little while.

Alex is his best friend, and if they’re gonna do this, he kind of wants to do it right.

 

* * *

 

The drive is long; finding a jeweler takes longer.

Armando reaches out and squeezes Alex’s hand as they get out of the car.  “You want me to go in and do it?”

“We gotta be sure they fit,” Alex points out.  He sounds nervous, and Armando feels the nerves, too, but they’re doing something  _ crazy _ , so he figures that it’s all warranted.  

He squeezes Alex’s hand again.  “Okay. You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

They head into the jeweler hand-in-hand, and the girl behind the counter  _ immediately _ zeroes in on them.  “Welcome!”

“Uh, hi,” Alex says.

“Let me guess: eloping couple?” She asks, eyes dropping meaningfully to their hands.  

Armando nods.  “Yeah. We’re, uh, we’re from out in Salem Center, thought it might be nice to get married at the Falls.”  God, this is  _ weird. _

“Yeah.  The proposal, um, was kinda off-the-cuff.”  Alex blushes. “So I didn’t have rings or anything.”

“Aw, that’s adorable,” she chirps.  “Now, what’s your budget?”

Alex winces; Armando squeezes his hand a third time, and speaks up: “Probably not any more than $200 per ring.  We gotta save some money for the chapel, you know?”

“Okay, sure,” she says, with a smile, then gestures for them to follow her along the cases toward the back of the shop.  “We see a lot of eloping couples, so we make sure we have plenty of budget-friendly options.”

“Sounds good,” Alex says, looking down at the case carefully.  “Whoa, is that — is that a peridot in that one?”

“Yes!”  She grins.  “Though, usually, women prefer to wear the ones with gems, the design and look of your wedding band should always be up to you.  Would you like to try that one on?”

Alex shakes his head.  “Nah, I just — I want to go into geophysics, so rocks are kind of my thing.”

She laughs.  “Ah, I see. How do you two feel about engravings?”

“I don’t know,” Alex says.  “‘Mando?”

“Might be nice,” he replies, “Depending on the price.”

Alex nods.  “Yeah, that’s true.  Uh, if I’m working with my hands a lot, like, with dirt and rocks and in labs and stuff, what kind of wedding ring material should I get?”

“Hm, given your budget, I think your best bet would be steel or titanium.”  She indicates a row of rings, then turns to Armando. “Do you want to match your husband, or would you prefer something a little more traditional?”

_ Husband _ hits him like a punch to the gut, and he takes a second to think.  “No, uh, I wanna match him.”

Alex squeezes his hand back, and he isn’t sure what that’s supposed to mean.  Still, he takes comfort in it as they look at the steel and titanium rings. Eventually, Alex points one out: “That one would look nice on you,” he murmurs.

It’s a flat, matte-finish ring, sturdy and dependable-looking.  

“It’d look good on you too,” Armando murmurs back.  He looks up at the girl. “Can we see that one?”

“You know,” she says, “We have exactly two of those left in stock, including that display piece.”  She smiles, just a little. “If they fit you two, this might just be destiny.”

She goes into the back to retrieve the other ring.  Armando leans his hip against the case and looks at Alex.  “How are you doing?”

“I’m good,” he says, flushing a little.  “Just. Wow. We’re actually doing this.”

“Yeah.  You still good for it?”

Alex nods.  “Yeah, absolutely.”

The girl comes back, then pulls the display ring out of the case.  “All right, you first, Mister —“ she looks at Armando, seemingly realizing she doesn’t know their names.

“Muñoz,” he says, “Armando Muñoz.”

“And I’m Alex Summers,” Alex adds.  They’d decided not to change their names, for now, to make things easier down the road.

“Alright, Mr. Muñoz, let’s start with you.”  She slides one of the rings onto Armando’s finger.  It fits perfectly, and Armando doesn’t even need to adapt for it, though he’s sure he could.

The girl smiles.  “Oh, that looks wonderful on you.”  She turns to Alex. “Now, let’s see if the other one fits you.”

Alex gives her his hand, and the ring fits him, too.

“Well, I think that settles it, if you like those best,” she says with a wider smile.  “If you want them plain, they’ll just cost you $150 total. $225 for an engraving, which would take an hour or so, so you’d have to come back for them.”

Armando looks at Alex.  “What do you think? D’you want an engraving?”

“I can’t think of one…”  He bites his lip. “We can always get it done later, if we want.”

The girl nods.  “Yes, you absolutely could.  So, $150?”

“Yeah,” Alex says, nodding, and Armando takes his wallet out.

Honestly?  As the money changes hands, he can’t help but think that, no matter what happens, this moment might just make it all worth it.

As they walk out of the jeweler and back to the car, they’re companionably quiet.

“So, uh, we should take these off until the ceremony, right?” Alex asks, once they’re settled back in the car.

“Probably,” Armando agrees, a little reluctantly.  “Do you want to hold them, or should I?”

Alex shrugs a little.  “I can. I mean, I proposed.”

“That’s true,” he says, chuckling a little.  “You did.” He slides his ring off and gives it to Alex with an encouraging smile.  “Man, your brother's gonna flip out when he finds out.”

“Yeah, well, he can bite me, considering I  walked in on him _having a threesome_ last month.” He shrugs.

Armando laughs, surprised.  “Really? Do I want to know who with?”

“Jean and Warren.  At least, that's what was implied by the red hair and one wing I caught a glimpse of before making a fucking break for it.  I still can't look Jean in the eye, to be honest.” He shakes his head. “ _ I'm  _ supposed to be the fun Summers, but noooo, while he's out having kinky threesomes, I'm just getting  _ married _ .”

“Hey, are you saying I'm  _ boring? _ ” Armando asks, teasing.

Alex laughs. “Nah, never.”

With that, they head off to find a chapel.

 

 

* * *

 

“We definitely can't afford the helicopter.”

Alex sounds despondent about this as he speaks, reading through the chapel brochure.

“You know if we do that, Scott's going to have to get married on the jet, just to one-up you.” Armando slips a casual arm around Alex's waist, reading the brochure over Alex's shoulder.  He notes the price — $725, ouch — and starts doing the math.

Alex sighs.  “I'm gonna go see if I can find more brochures.”  He extricates himself from Armando and heads off to the collection of brochures on the wall.

Armando approaches the concierge.  “Hey. Uh, I'm eloping with my fiancé.  Do you guys have any open slots for that helicopter wedding thing for today?” Credit card debt seems like a no-brainer, if Alex wants to get married in a helicopter.

Plus, it might be fun.

“Hang on, lemme look…” A pause.  “Yeah, actually, we had a cancellation.  If you can be up at the helipad in half an hour, we can give you a discount.”

Ten minutes later and $500 poorer, Armando grins and calls over to Alex.  “Hey, hotshot.”

Alex looks over, questioning.

“We got twenty minutes before the helicopter takes off.”

The shock and dawning joy on Alex's face makes the expense utterly worth it.

 

* * *

 

Alex's hand is tight in his as they take off, joined by two attendants to serve as witnesses, the pilot, and the minister.

It's loud, he thinks, and he's not sure this is the best idea for spoken vows, but they'll figure it out.  They're getting married in a helicopter, and while this is still a tax fraud scheme at its core, Alex is grinning like this is the best day of his life, and Armando wants to keep that look on his face.

“Dearly Beloved,” the minister begins, with a certain amount of irony, “We are gathered here to witness the uniting of Alexander Summers and Armando Muñoz in the bonds of matrimony.”

Shit, this is  _ really _ happening.  Armando's pretty sure he's  _ never  _ heard anyone use Alex's whole first name before.

He looks at Alex, who is blushing.  He squeezes Alex's hand, hopefully encouragingly.  Alex looks back at him and squeezes back. The minister continues, though he's hard to hear until he gets to the vows part:

“Armando, do you have any particular vows to make?”

Armando somehow didn't expect this part.  “Uh, yeah, actually.” He takes a deep breath and says, over the helicopter rotors and the roar of the Falls, “Alex, I promise that no matter what, I'm gonna be here for you.  Right next to you, as long as you want me. You've been my best friend since we met, and that's never going to change.”

Alex swallows, nodding.

“And do you, Armando Muñoz, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.” There's a lump in his throat, because this might be fraud, but every word is true.

The minister nods, then turns to Alex.  “Now, Alex, do you have any particular vows to make?”

“Yeah,” Alex says, nodding.  He takes a deep breath. “I promise that no matter what happens, I've got your back.  I'll — I'll be your partner, your cover and your, um, your home base, forever.”

Armando squeezes Alex's hand.  They don't really talk about the close call they had soon after meeting, when they were reckless and Armando nearly died, but the memory hangs over Alex's vows like a veil, and Armando wants to to pull him close and hold him.  He can't, yet, though — they have a ceremony to finish.

“And do you, Alexander Summers, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

The minister nods.  “Now, the rings?”

Alex lets go of his hand to dig through his pockets, coming up with the two steel bands.  “Got 'em.”

“Place one on Armando's left ring finger, please.”

Alex takes Armando's left hand and slides the ring on.  It's surreal — the whole situation is — but the weight on his finger feels right.

He smiles at Alex, and doesn't wait for the minister's prompting, taking the other ring and slipping it on Alex's hand in turn, squeezing his hand gently before turning back to the minister.

The minister smiles.  “Now, by the power vested in me by God and the State of New York, I now pronounce you married.  You may kiss the groom.”

Armando turns to Alex, and there's a moment where nothing happens, before they both lean in and kiss, Armando's left hand cupping Alex's cheek.  It's strange, and perfect, and the safety harnesses make the angle almost make it painful.

He pulls back, and shit, they're  _ married  _ now.  Alex is blushing, and they're holding hands in a helicopter, and they're  _ married. _

He has a husband, now.

“Now, time for pictures!” One of the attendants chirps, a cheerful middle aged woman named Sarah.  “Show off the rings, boys!”

They do, and the rest of the helicopter ride his half Niagara Falls tour and half photoshoot.

Alex's hand is in his the whole time.


	2. consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Darwin deal with some of the ramifications of eloping to Niagra Falls, including Alex's siblings' reactions. They also get an apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I write the youngest Summers sibling as a trans girl named Lola. She will be appearing in this fic a few times.

They stay the night in the room the wedding package came with, sharing the king size bed only a little awkwardly after getting a pizza delivered and champagne and beer requested from room service.

Armando wakes up the next morning to his phone blaring loudly next to his head, and Alex clinging to him in his sleep.

He picks up the phone.  Shit. It's Scott.

“Is Alex with you?” Scott asks without preamble.  “The two of you have been missing since yesterday, and Alex isn't taking my calls.”

Armando exhales.  “Yeah, he's with me.  Sleeping off some beers and pizza.”

Scott lets out a relieved sigh.  “Okay. I was just worried.” He pauses.  “And, uh, Jean said she overheard Alex's thoughts about a wedding?”

Great.  Time to be honest.  “Yeah, we, uh, we went out to Niagara.”

“Holy shit,” Scott said.

Armando chuckles, just a little.  “Yeah, uh, we know it's a little sudden.  But, y'know, it just...seems right.” He smirks.  “Like you and Jean. And Warren, apparently.”

The scandalized squawk Scott lets out is loud enough to wake Alex, who groans and turns over to glare at the phone.  “Whozzat?” he asks, muzzily, his chin resting on Armando's chest.

“Your brother,” Armando says, chuckling indulgently.  “He’s not too happy you told me about that threesome, I think.”

Alex laughs, warm and still sleepy.  “Yeah, well, tell him I wasn't happy to see him naked.”

Armando reaches down and ruffles Alex's hair, then says to Scott, “Alex says he wasn't happy to see you naked, so the two if you are even.”

Scott laughs, then says, “Well, I'll you two go.  Welcome to the family, Darwin.”

“Uh, yeah, thank you,” he says, that detail throwing him for a bit of a loop. 

Shit, he has a  _ family  _ now, at least legally speaking.  As Scott hangs up, Armando exhales.  “Well, what's the over-under on Scott giving me the third degree when we get home, do you think?”

Alex shakes his head.  “Nah. He's always liked you.  I wouldn't worry about it.” He smirks a little.  “Lola's gonna kill me, though, for runnin’ off with you and not inviting her to witness.”

Lola is Alex's little sister, and it's only recently she found her way back to the Summers family by way of her foster mom, Doctor MacTaggert.  She's got a temper, but Armando has always gotten along with the fifteen-year-old.

“Don't worry, I'll protect you,” Armando teases.  “Wasn't that in the vows?”

Alex flushes.  “Yeah, guess it was.” He grins, just a little.  “Shit, we really did it. We fucking, we fucked off to Niagara and got married in a fucking helicopter.”

“Yeah, we did,” Armando says, grinning.  “Gonna put your applications in when we get home?”

Alex smiles, still blushing.  “Yeah. Thanks, um, thanks for all this.”

“Anytime,” he replies, and means it.

 

* * *

 

When they get back to Westchester, the first thing they see when they arrive is Lola storming toward them.  Her eyes are always glowing, but they look  _ dangerous _ now.

“Hey, hey, Lo,” Alex says, awkwardly.  “Listen, I can explain.”

“I don't want to hear it!  You got  _ married _ to  _ Darwin  _ and didn't invite  _ me! _ ” She reaches them and shoves at Alex.

Armando catches Alex around the waist on instinct when she does, and does what he does best: he adapts, giving Lola a smile.  “It was kinda sudden,” he tells her. “But we've got plenty of pictures. How 'bout we go inside and take a look at 'em?”

His sister-in-law — and shit,  _ that  _ is still kind of a trip — deflates a little.  “Yeah, okay. I just...kind of hoped that when this happened, I would get to be there.”

“Sorry,” Alex says, obviously sincere.  “I kinda just...wanted this just to be for us.”

She nods.  “That's pretty romantic,” she teases, smirking.  “Scott's really gonna have to up his game for when him and Jean and Warren find some way to get married.”

Alex laughs.  “Yeah, totally.  Hell, 'Mando and I tied the knot in a helicopter, so he'll have to do something pretty wild to outdo us.”

“Oh my  _ god _ , Alex, you're so fucking extra,” Lola says, mock-fuming.

Armando chuckles.  “I'm the one who decided on the helicopter,” he says, because he loves Alex and wants to throw him a bone.  “So if anybody's extra here, it's me.”

Lola rolls her eyes.  “Bull-shiiiiiiit,” she sing-songs.  “But seriously, welcome to the family.”

“Thank you.  Scott said the same thing when he called this morning.” He smiles at her.  “Now, shall we?”

He gestures toward the front steps of the mansion, and they all head inside.

 

* * *

 

They move out two weeks later.  The Professor had given them his blessings when they told him they wanted a place of their own, and helped them find and rent a place close to Old Landon — in fact, there were other mutants publicly living in the neighborhood.

It's a small community, but Armando wants to be part of it.  He's not sure why, but sometimes, the mansion makes him feel closed off from the world at large.

The apartment is small, just a studio in a converted storefront just below street level.  But they can pay for it, between Alex's financial aid and the cab work Armando's going back to.  It's something to do, and it'll keep a roof over their heads, which is all he really needs in a job.  The Professor had offered to help with the rent, but Alex and Armando had both nixed that idea pretty quick.

Turns out, they've got similar views on not wanting to be beholden to people.

For the moment, though, they're both collapsed on their new queen-size bed — a belated wedding gift from Scott, Jean, Warren, and Lola — and Armando is trying real hard not to think about how from now on, he and Alex will be  _ sharing a bed. _

“I can take the...shit, we don't have a couch yet.” Alex frowns.

“It's not like we haven't slept in the same bed before,” Armando points out, because apparently he really does hate himself.

Alex nods.  “Yeah, that's true,” he concedes.  

They lay like that for a while longer.  Armando is fine with that, just existing in Alex's space.  They've always been good at these quiet moments; neither of them is much of a talker, and they've never needed to be, not with each other.

Eventually, Alex rolls onto his belly.  “I heard back from Landon,” he says, and he's leaning up on his elbows.  “I got in. Pretty good merit scholarship, too, on top of my FAFSA aid.”

“Well shit, that's fantastic!  When did you find out?” Armando leans up onto his own elbows, though he does remain on his back.

“Today, right before we left the mansion.” Alex grins a little, flushed with pride.  “I start next month, with the fall semester.”

Armando grins.  “Was sure you would get in,” he says, warmly.  He tugs Alex down for a hug. “Can’t wait to see what kinda rocks you bring home,” he teases.

Alex laughs, and, well, for the moment, life is really, really good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little short, but I wanted to get some of the logistics out of the way before I get into the hardcore pining section of the story, you know?
> 
> I'm also planning on putting one chapter out of this fic every month until it's finished. So you can expect the next chapter sometime in August. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you had a nice time!


	3. the boys attend a party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing about taxis.

They settle into a routine pretty quick after that first day, especially when the semester starts and Armando gets work as a cabbie again -- he’s happy to be working, and he can mostly make his own hours, so he tends to try and match them to Alex’s classes and labs, so that they’re both home at the same time.

One thing they haven’t really figured out is food.  Armando's a year or two out of practice with it, and Alex never learned, so they get friendly with the local delivery people pretty quick.

But Alex seems to want to learn.  So, sometimes, when Armando gets home from a shift, he finds Alex trying to cook something.

Like tonight.

“Hey,” Alex says, and there’s what looks like  _ soot _ over one of his eyes.  He sounds a little chagrined, and his smile is, too.  “Dinner’s, uh, dinner’s ready. Pretty much, anyway.”

Armando loves that smile, but he can smell charred meat from here.  He grins a little, teasing, “Was it supposed to be chicken this time?”

Alex blushes, and shit, Armando loves that blush, too.  “Yeah, actually.”

He heads over to the kitchen, where Alex had clearly been prying what used to be a chicken breast out of a frying pan.  The potatoes, at least, look all right, and Armando can feel his guts rearranging to deal with the chicken.

“Potatoes look nice,” he says, and Alex laughs.

“Yeah, well, they're the third try.  I mighta broke the blender.” Alex bites his lip.  “There's salad, though, so we've got that if the chicken is totally inedible.”

Armando laughs.  “Jesus, hotshot. You got something against our appliances?” he teases.

“Okay, the dishwasher was already broken,” Alex insists, but he's grinning.

They sit down to eat.  Armando cuts himself a piece of chicken and puts it in his mouth.  It's just this side of inedible, but he gets it down okay.

Alex, not so much.  Armando glances up and sees his face screwing up in disgust as he swallows.

“Hey now,” Armando says, tapping the table.  “You take the potatoes, I'll eat the chicken.” He smiles, still teasing a little.  “I've got the stomach for it now.”

“You don't have to,” Alex says, flushing bright pink.

Armando's grin widens a little.  “Yeah, but you gotta eat, and you're not eating that.” He reaches out with his fork and grabs the chicken from Alex's plate.  “Go on, take the potatoes.”

Alex shakes his head, but he takes them.

As gross as the chicken is, Armando can't help but think he wouldn't trade any part of this for all the money in the world.

 

* * *

 

“So, uh, we’ve got a party invite,” Alex says as he comes into the apartment.  “One of my classmates, Julie, she lives in her parent’s second apartment, and she’s throwing a house party.”

“Oh?”

Alex nods.  “Yeah. She says she’s tired of me using the ‘nah, I gotta go home to my husband’ excuse, because she doesn’t believe you actually exist.”

Armando laughs.  “Well, it’s a little unusual to be married in college, I guess.”

“Yeah.  So, now we’re both invited to this party.” Alex shrugs.  “Free food and booze, so, like, I was thinking we might as well.”

“Sure,” Armando says, then teases, “Plus, I mean, you get to show me off.”

When Alex laughs, as usual, it's Armando's favorite sound.

 

* * *

 

“Whoa, he's actually real,” says the young woman who opens the apartment door when they arrive that Friday night.  She whistles. “I stand corrected.”

Alex laughs.  “Told you so, Jules,” he says, his hand curled in Armando's.  

“No wonder you never go out, if  _ he's _ what you've got at home,” agrees another girl.  “Hot damn.” She shakes her head. Then she grins at Armando.  “Nice to meet you. I'm Heather, I'm in organic chem, unlike all these physical sciences nerds.”

“We're all bleeding-heart environmental scientists, Heather, you just could  _ theoretically  _ betray us all and go into Big Pharma when you graduate.” Julie rolls her eyes.

“How could I do that to you, beloved?” Heather replies, pressing a noisy kiss to Julie's cheek.  “I should rather die torn apart by dogs.”

Armando can't help but laugh a little.  “That's a little dramatic.”

“I was a theater lesbian in high school, I can't help it.” Heather winks and pulls Julie inside, gesturing for Alex and Armando to follow.

The apartment is, from what Armando can tell, at least four times the size of his and Alex's place.  The decor is minimalist, mostly in black and white with hints of dark blue.

“Hey everybody!  Alex isn't married to a cryptid!” Heather calls out, drawing the attention of the thirty-some-odd people gathered around the bar at the other end of the living room.  “His husband  _ does  _ exist!”

A ripple of laughter goes through the group, and Armando waves a little.  “Hey,” he says with a smile. 

Alex is blushing a deep pink, so Armando makes an executive decision: he wraps an arm around Alex's waist and tugs him over to a plush-looking white leather sofa, sitting down with him like there's nothing at all unusual about the situation.

It's cute, the way Alex immediately leans on Armando's shoulder like he belongs there, because really, he does.

“How're you doing?” Armando asks Alex softly after a minute or two.

“I'm fine,” Alex assures him.  “Just, wasn't quite expecting that much of a reaction, y'know?” He grins a little ruefully.  “Sorry.”

Armando curls his hand around Alex's.  “No problem,” he murmurs back, and leans over to kiss his cheek, because they're in public, and they've done that in public before.

Alex blushes even more, but he doesn't stop smiling.

They're left alone for a little while, but soon, they're joined on the couch by more of Alex's classmates, who introduce themselves as Stephanie, Li, and Benizio.

“So, what do you do?” Li asks Armando.

“Right now I'm driving taxis,” he says.  “Might look for other work at some point, but it pays well enough, and I like people.”

Stephanie grins.  “Is that how you two met?”

“Nah,” Alex says.  “We, uh, we met at this summer program a couple years ago.”

That's one way of putting it, for sure.

“Yeah,” Armando says.  “And now, here we are. Living the dream in Manhattan.”

“Hey, you can't say that, you're  _ from  _ here,” Alex grouses.  “It's not like  _ you  _ moved here from America's Heartland, that was  _ all _ me.”

Armando laughs.  “Okay, baby.”

“Aww,” Stephanie says.  “Jeez, you two are really cute together.”

“Thanks,” Armando says, as Alex sits there, blushing his face off, and damn, that  _ is  _ real cute on him.

Armando is one lucky man, to be quite honest.

 

* * *

 

About an hour later, they’ve gotten separated; Alex is being interrogated by a couple of girls, and Armando’s keeping an eye on that but for the most part leaves it alone as he goes to get himself a drink at the bar.

Jesus, Julie’s parents have got to be  _ loaded _ .

Somebody’s playing bartender, a blonde guy with his hair in a bun and pretty sizable sideburns, and he grins at Armando as he approaches the bar.  “What can I get you?”

“I don’t know, you got any suggestions?” He doesn’t intend to get drunk, but something with a little bit of a kick can’t hurt, he thinks.  It’s a party; he might as well have a little fun, right?

The guy nods, his grin sharpening a little.  He pulls a couple bottles down from the top shelf, and soon, Armando recognizes a sazerac taking shape.

“Here you go,” the guys says, and then pulls it back when Armando reaches for it.  “You can have it if you give me your name.”

Oh, so  _ that’s  _ what’s happening here.  Armando lifts an eyebrow.  “Armando,” he says, and extends his hand lazily for the cocktail — the hand with his wedding ring on.  “My husband knows the girl throwing the party.”

The guy hands him the drink, seemingly on autopilot, if his shocked face is anything to go by, and Armando heads back to where Alex is.

Alex is watching him, and Armando doesn’t have to say anything; Alex puts an arm around his waist as soon as he’s in reach.  Armando smiles, just a little, and passes him the drink.

In prime form, Alex tips it back and drinks the whole thing.

“Someone’s a little jealous,” Armando observes, teasingly.

Alex rolls his eyes.  “Yeah, well, you still married me, so.”  He shrugs a little, and his arm tightens on Armando’s waist a little bit.

Armando kisses his cheek.  “Yeah, hotshot, I did.”

 

* * *

 

They’re almost home when Alex’s cell phone rings.  It’s Scott.

“Hey, Scott, what’s up?” Alex asks, and Armando can’t  _ quite  _ hear Scott’s side of the conversation.  

Alex frowns.  “Is everything okay?”  A pause. “You sure? It’s kind of late…”  Then: “Yeah, of course we’ll come up. See you soon.”

He hangs up, and Armando raises an eyebrow.

“Something’s up at the mansion.  Scott  _ says  _ everything’s fine, but he wants us to come up to Westchester like, right now, so I’m not sure what’s going on.”  Alex frowns. “He said Lola was fine, so I don’t know what might be going on.”

Armando takes his hand.  “Well, guess we’re gonna find out when we get there.”

“Yeah.”

 

* * *

 

Two hours later, Alex and Armando are headed through the gate of the Institute.  Alex looks nervous, and that’s why Armando takes his hand. He’s gotten used to that, this almost-romantic body language.  

If he’s not mistaken, Alex kind of likes it, too.  He’s not sure if that means anything, but he isn’t going to try and mention it.

They head up the front steps, and Alex knocks.

After a moment, Scott answers the door.  “Hey, guys, thank you for coming so suddenly.  This is just -- it’s -- you guys need to see this.”

“Okay?” Alex says, swallowing a little.  He sounds nervous, and frankly, Armando is too, just a little.

So, Armando squeezes Alex’s hand, and the two of them follow Scott inside.  They pass through the house and back toward the kitchen. Once inside, Alex freezes, staring.

Armando follows his eyeline to look at two women.  One of them is clearly one of the Shi’Ar -- an alien people that they’ve encountered before -- and Armando can’t figure out her age, but the other woman is middle-aged and blue-eyed.

“Mom?” Alex says, his voice small.

Well, shit.


	4. catching up with the summers-neramanis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter’s a little short, but the next one more than makes up for it, i promise!

“Mom?” 

Alex sounds like he hasn’t said the word in years, and Armando holds his hand a little tighter.  

Holy  _ shit _ , is this Katherine Summers?  The same Katherine Summers who had been abducted by aliens when Scott and Alex were kids, and Lola was in utero?  Armando’s heard so much about her, but...isn’t she dead?

“Alex,” the woman says, her voice cracking.  “Hey, sweetie. I’m finally home.”

Alex pulls away from Armando and crosses the kitchen at a run, dragging his mother into a tight hug as he bursts into tears on her shoulder.

Armando hangs back, allowing them their reunion without any accidental interference.

Scott, Armando notices, is discreetly wiping his eyes behind his glasses.  No wonder he’d called so abruptly, wanted them to come up to Westchester right away.  Armando doesn’t have any blood siblings, but he doesn’t have to to at least recognize how important this moment is for Alex’s entire family.

“So,” Katherine Summers says, finally pulling back enough to get another good look at Alex.  “Who’s that nice boy you brought with you?” She’s smiling, but her face is wet with tears.

Alex flushes bright pink.  “Oh, uh — that’s — ‘Mando, get over here,” he manages, and Armando crosses the room with a smile, for his sake.  “Mom, this is Armando. He...I...well, we got married a few months ago.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Summers,” Armando says, turning his smile to her.

“I’m so glad Alex has found someone,” she says in return.  “I look forward to getting to know you.” 

Armando nods.  

Katherine laughs a little.  “Speaking, um, of weddings,” she says, “I’ve remarried.”  She extends her hand, and the Shi’Ar woman steps over to her and takes it.  “This is Lilandra Neramani, Imperial Majestrix of the Renewed Shi’Ar Empire.”

“Holy  _ shit, _ ” Alex breathes.  “Like,  _ Empress _ Lilandra?”

Armando has to echo the sentiment.  That’s wild, even for people associated with the X-Men.

“We met after Katherine’s bold escape from my brother’s gilded prison,” Lilandra says with a smile.  “Without her, I could never have retaken the throne from his madness.”

“Holy shit,” Alex repeats, seemingly trying to process the situation.

Katherine smiles and pulls Alex into a one-armed hug.  “So, technically, you and your siblings are royalty now.”

“Lola’s gonna love that,” Alex says, getting choked up again.  “Does she -- have you --”

“Yep,” comes Lola’s voice as she comes into the kitchen.  “We talked a lot before you got here.”

Armando turns a little, and he can see that Lola’s eyes are a little red and her face is puffy.  He imagines it was a particularly big deal for her, given her circumstances.

“It was a little bit of a surprise,” Katherine admits.  “But honestly, I’m just glad I found you all again.”

Lola and Scott close in on Alex and Katherine, and Armando steps back to give them space after squeezing Alex’s hand.  He doesn’t want to get in the way of what seems just about ready to turn into a family hug.

There will be time to get to know Katherine later, he knows.  This moment, though, is just for the four of them.

 

* * *

 

“So, you’re the Empress of a space empire?” Armando asks Lilandra over coffee, a little ways apart from where the Summerses are chattering, catching Katherine up on the last decade and a half.

Lilandra chuckles.  “Yes. My people are still coming to terms with Katherine’s position as my Queen Consort, given she is human, but things are finally stable enough that we can travel here.”  She gives a little smile, looking over at Katherine, Alex, Scott, and Lola. “I can see her in her children.”

“Yeah,” Armando agrees.  “Alex has her eyes.”

“How did the the two of you come to be wed?” Lilandra seems honestly curious.  “As I understand it, twenty is fairly young for your people to marry.”

Armando would blush, if it showed on his complexion.  “It’s kind of a long story,” he admits. “We, uh, we met a couple of years ago.  Alex had been wrongfully imprisoned, and Xavier and Magneto needed someone with his skillset, so they took me to pick him up.”

“Well, that’s one way to meet your spouse.”  Lilandra smiles. “I encountered Katherine while on the run from my brother.  She had escaped him, and was full of the desire for vengeance -- it was soon after she believed she lost her child.”  She shakes her head. “It’s a miracle that Lola has been returned to her, after so long. That they all have found each other, but especially that.”

“She’s a good kid,” Armando says.  “I met her when I was recovering from a pretty major head injury.  Lost my memory, wound up taking up with Doctor MacTaggert and her foster kids.”

Lilandra nods.  “The Summers family is certainly a good one.”

“Yeah,” Armando agrees.  “Glad to be part of it, now.”

“I am, as well.”

 

* * *

 

“So, this is gonna mean figuring out the holidays, right?” Alex eventually asks, once they’ve all grouped up again.  Armando has put his arm around his waist again, not even thinking about it as he does so. 

Scott nods.  “Yeah. I’d been about to call you about that, anyway, when Mom suddenly showed up at the Institute earlier today.”

“It seems our timing was fortuitous, then,” Lilandra comments, her hand in Katherine’s.

“Yeah,” Lola says, leaning against her mother’s other side.  “You might even have time to get us Christmas presents.” There’s an attempt at a joke in there, but the teen is still a little earnestly emotional about this whole situation.  

Katherine laughs and kisses the top of her daughter’s head.  “Anything you want, sweetheart.”

“I think we should do Thanksgiving at the mansion,” Scott says.  “That way we can hang out with everyone, and then we can make Christmas a mostly-family thing.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Katherine agrees.  “If all of you have time, I was thinking I might like to bring the four of you out to Chandilar after the holiday -- there’s a solar holiday for the Empire that Lilandra needs to oversee, and I think you might enjoy it.”

Lola’s eyes widen.  “You mean, like, we’d be going to  _ space? _ ”

Lilandra laughs.  “Yes. Chandilar is my throneworld, where you and your brothers must be considered royalty.”  She nods toward Armando. “And you, as well. But we can consider official titles once we’re there; I have certain things I must discuss with my advisors.”

Armando, somehow, hadn’t expected to be included in the royalty thing, so he just nods, more than a little taken off guard by it.

“Okay,” Alex says, nodding.  “So, Thanksgiving at the Mansion, and on Christmas Day we leave for Chandilar.”  He looks over at Armando. “What do you think about Christmas Eve at our place? Just the family, and maybe Sean and Angel?”  Then he looks at Scott. “And of course, Jean and Warren are welcome to come.”

Armando laughs at the procession of facial expressions that cross Scott’s face at that little jab.  “I think that’s fine. We can definitely fit that many people into the apartment for a Christmas party, I think.”

“I think we’ve settled all of it, then,” Katherine says with a smile.  

“Sounds like we have,” Scott agrees, nodding.

Then, Katherine turns on her eldest.  “Now, who are Jean and Warren, and why did you make  _ that _ face when Alex mentioned them?”

Scott turns as red as his eye beams, and Alex bursts out laughing.

Armando holds Alex a little tighter, and he can’t help but think that yes,  _ this _ is what having a family feels like.


	5. that’s the good stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter contains references to Lola having a crush on Kitty; if canon!Gabriel hadn’t been aged up by D’ken’s Shi’Ar, he would have been pretty much of an age with her, so that’s what i’m doing here.
> 
> also includes references to scott/jean/warren as an ot3.

Thanksgiving at the Institute is honestly pretty great.  Moira, Petra, and Suzanne all even came out from Muir Island, so Armando got to catch up with them a little bit.  Suzanne keeps making fun of him a little about getting married, but Armando can tell she’s happy for him.

Lilandra gave him a quiet smile, too, when they sat down across from each other at the dinner table; she’s a nice lady, and for an unexpected mother in law, he really is starting to like her.

And of course, there’s Alex.  Alex is always brighter around the people he loves, and here is another exhibition of that.  Right now, he’s laughing and teasing Lola about her obvious crush on Kitty Pryde, who is a newer addition to the school, and about her age.  Kitty, apparently, has gone home for Thanksgiving, which means all that brotherly teasing gets to come right out.

“Uh-huh, sure,” Alex says, his voice sly.  “It’s just friendly excitement that she’s coming back to school early, once Hanukkah is over.”

Armando hates to tease, but he has to interject here.  “If you’d like to, you can invite her to Christmas Eve at our place, we’d be happy to have her, if she’s going to be in town anyway.”

The look of betrayal Lola gives him is, honestly, pretty priceless.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, Sean manages to pull him aside.

“Look, man, I know this isn’t really my business,” he says, and Armando immediately is filled with deep, deep misgivings about a conversation that hasn’t even properly begun.  “But, like, is this whole marriage thing a sham?”

Well, that could be a bad conclusion for people to come to.  “Why would you think that?”

“Well, I mean…”  Sean shrugs. “I guess I sort of would’ve expected either of you to have said something about being together before you guys jumped straight to marriage.  I’ve known you both practically the whole time we’ve all been here. I feel like this is something I would’ve known about.”

Shit.  Damage control time.  How likely was Sean to rat them out?  “...Promise that nothing I say leaves this conversation.  Don’t tell  _ anyone.   _ Even Alex.”

“Sure, I promise.”  Sean looks intrigued.

Armando takes a deep breath.  “We’re committing tax fraud by getting married, so Alex can get cheaper tuition.”  He says it quietly, and they’re far enough away from everyone else that he doubts anyone would be able to hear them.  

Sean blinks.  “Shit, that’s a great idea.”

“But,” Armando continues, seriously, “I am, and have been for pretty much forever, in love with him.”

“Oh, shit.”  Sean raises his eyebrows.  “That’s...wow.”

Armando nods.  “So. Don’t tell anyone, and especially don’t tell Alex.  I can’t fuck this up for him just because of how I feel about him.”

“Of course,” Sean says, nodding.  “We never had this conversation.”

Armando hopes, as Sean ambles away, that Sean isn’t bullshitting him.

 

* * *

 

Several weeks later, Christmas is coming, and with it, an influx of New York City's yearly tourist problem.

Most people are perfectly decent to their cabbie, but the shitty ones are  _ the worst. _  He can handle language barriers just fine — people don’t even notice when he slips into their languages as if he’s spoken them all his life as a result of his mutation.  It’s not even rich tourists wanting him to navigate the Theater District.

It’s the fucking  _ Long Islanders. _

People who come in from off the Island, thinking that because they’re from downstate they don’t count as tourists, when they  _ absolutely _ do.

He wanted to deck the lady who hailed him and tried to cram six middle schoolers into the back of his cab — her accent said Long Island, and her patter was all  _ my family came out of Brooklyn in ‘69 _ ,  _ I know what the city is like _ , when it was clear she absolutely didn’t.

He doesn’t know why so many Long Islanders coming in for Christmas Season bullshit have such a high rate of being clueless assholes, but by the end of the evening, all Armando wants to do is go  _ home. _

Home to Alex, who might be cooking dinner.  He’s doing a little better now, keeping mostly to pasta, which he’s decent at, and baked stuff, which he’s also getting good at.  It’s an unspoken agreement that he shouldn’t do much with frying pans, after the grease fire in November that burned three of their dishtowels in one fell swoop.

God, days like this make him miss his husband, and it doesn’t even  _ matter _ that the marriage is a fake.

 

* * *

 

Inside, though, it’s not the quiet haven he’d been fantasizing about for hours.  The living room area is completely covered in textbooks, binders, lab notes, and what Armando thinks might be a legitimate physics experiment taking place on the floor.

Alex is in the kitchen, his head in his hands when Armando opens the door.  He looks up. “Oh, thank god you’re home. I have  _ no _ idea what I’m cooking Christmas Eve.”

Christmas is still two weeks away.  Alex’s finals start in three days.

“You’re gonna be fine,” Armando reassures him.  “Your family’s coming over, they’re just gonna be glad to see you.”

“No,” Alex says, shaking his head.  “We’re hosting my mom and her wife for Christmas Eve, and my mom’s wife is an alien empress from, y’know,  _ space?! _  I can’t fuck this up, I have to get it right, and you know I can’t cook for shit!”

He looks tense, his hands tight on the dishrag he’s holding, as though any of this matters right this second.  Armando exhales, because god, all he wanted to do was come home to a quiet night with Alex, and this, whatever it’s really about, is  _ not _ that.

“Alex.  I promise.  Your mom spent the better part of fifteen years trying to get to somewhere where she could find you three again.  If you burn dinner, she’s not gonna care.”

Alex tosses the dishrag to the floor, starting to look angry now.  “Don’t  _ you _ want to impress her?  I know you get along well with Lilandra, but still, Jesus, this is important, don’t you get it?  It’s my mom, and her wife, and I definitely don’t want to be some overreaching asshole and I want you to give a shit about that, is it so wrong?!”

His voice rises by the end, and fuck, Armando can’t do this.  He’s already keyed up from the tourists, and Alex seems to be  _ looking _ for a fight, now.

Armando isn’t gonna give him one.  He just scrubs his hand down his face and turns around.  “Look, I’m gonna go out. Do what you want about Christmas Eve dinner, okay?”

He doesn’t wait for an answer.  He just leaves the apartment and gets into his car, rolling down the street, trying to get out of his own head.

 

* * *

 

Armando puts the radio on about fifteen minutes in.  It feels shitty almost immediately, to walk out of his own home so that he doesn’t start fighting with Alex, with his  _ husband _ .

Part of him wonders if that’s why his own mother acted the way she did, because Dad walked out on them and never came back.  He can’t be that man, and he won’t be, even if this whole marriage is just, y’know, tax fraud to get Alex a good tuition rate at school.

The song changes over.  He managed to find the one station that isn’t playing exclusively Christmas carols, which is something, at least.

_ Me and my lady had our first big fight… _

Well, that’s on the nose, he thinks.  Alex isn’t a  _ his lady _ by any metric, but the feeling is there all the same.

_ So I drove around ‘til I saw the neon lights _ _   
_ _ Of a corner bar; it just seemed right _

_ So I pulled up. _

The song goes on like that, as Armando slowly moves down congested streets.  The narrator in the song meets a widowed bartender, who tells him that the “good stuff” isn’t whiskey, but love.

_ It’s the way that she looks with her eyes and her hair,  
_ _ Eatin’ burnt suppers the whole first year -- _

He laughs at that, he has to.  That’s his life, after all.

As the song unfolds, he can’t help but feel for the old bartender in the song, can’t help but think about the future, about what future he could  _ have _ with Alex, if this was real.  If it could  _ be _ real.

_ When you get home, she’ll start to cry.  
_ _ When she says ‘I’m sorry,’ say ‘So am I.’  
_ _ And look into those eyes so deep in love.  
_ _ Drink it up.  
_ __ ‘Cause that’s the good stuff.

“Shit,” Armando murmurs to the empty car.  

It’s as if this one song drained all the irritation and anger out of him.  All he wants is Alex, in the ways that he’s allowed to have him.

At the next corner, he turns right.

If he plays his cards right, he’ll be home before the next song ends.

 

* * *

 

He gets home pretty quick, and finds Alex sitting at the kitchen table, his head in his hands.  

Alex looks up immediately, and Armando doesn’t know quite how to parse his facial expression, which is unusual for them.  Alex gets up. “I — look, I’m sorry. You’re doing all of this for me, to help me out with school, and you’re stuck with this mess.”

“It’s okay.”  Armando shakes his head, approaching him in the kitchen.  “I was all twisted up over shitty tourists, I didn’t wanna wind up yelling at you.”

Closer, now, he can see that Alex’s eyes are a little red-rimmed, and shit, had he  _ cried _ ?

Alex nods.  “Yeah, that, that makes sense.”  His voice is a little thin, too. “Still.  I’m sorry for starting shit when I didn’t need to.  You’re right, it’s my mom, she’s still gonna love me if I can’t cook.”

Armando nods.  “I’m sorry, too,” he says, and takes Alex’s hand.  “It was obvious it mattered to you, and I couldn’t help in the moment.”

“It’s okay,” Alex says, nodding and squeezing back.  “Just...next time, maybe...maybe don’t just leave?”

“Yeah, of course.”  Armando tugs Alex into a hug.  “Figured that out pretty much as soon as I left.”  He wraps his arms around Alex’s waist and tucks his chin over his shoulder.  “Had to cool down a little, but I’m gonna try not to do it again.”

“Thanks,” Alex breathes, his arms around Armando’s shoulder.  “I just...I don’t handle you disappearing too good. After...after everything that’s happened.”

Alex doesn’t talk about it.  Alex  _ never _ talks about the in-between, when he thought Armando was dead.  That he’s even referencing it now proves how freaked out he was, and Armando can’t help but hold him tighter.

“You still wanna do this?” Alex asks.  “Even though shit like this happens?”

“Hotshot, one fight can’t fuck us up,” Armando says, softly.  “You and I are better than that, always have been.” He’s being perfectly honest.  “I married you, and I’m content to keep it that way.”

Alex swallows.  “Thanks,” he says, and his voice is wet.  “I really don’t deserve you.”

“Not about deserving, and besides, I wanna be here.”  He starts shifting them both toward their bed. “Do you wanna lie down with me for a little before we deal with dinner?”

This feels different, after he’s said the things he’s said, but it doesn’t feel risky or wrong.  It feels like the thing to do.

“Yeah.  I’d...I’d like that.”

So, that’s what they do.


	6. christmas eve

Christmas Eve comes faster than it feels like it should, but Armando doesn’t mind the little bit of surprise he feels when the first knocks reach their door on the day of.

Alex is the one who rushes the door as Armando puts a pie in the oven.  They’d decided to do a mix of homemade and frozen foods, in the end, because Alex is fine with frozen food, and they’re both pretty good with the oven.

“Hey mom!”  Alex pulls Katherine and Lilandra inside.  “Sorry, uh, we’re still cooking. Can I get you guys anything to drink?”

“Water is fine,” Lilandra says, smiling.  

Katherine pulls her son into a hug.  “Yeah, I’ll have water, too,” she says, kissing his cheek before she lets go and turns her attention to Armando.  “And how are you?”

“I’m good,” he says, approaching his mother-in-law and giving her a hug.  “Got an apple pie in the oven, so we’ve got that to look forward to.”

“‘Mando’s much better at all this than me,” Alex says, getting some glasses down from the cabinets and filling three with water.  “So I’m in charge of the stuff that just needs to get heated, and stuff, because I’m really not great at cooking.”

Katherine chuckles.  “Should I be worried?”

“No,” Armando says, chuckling too, “but it’s probably good my mutation is what it is, while Alex learns how to cook.”

Lilandra cocks her head.  “What is your mutation?”

“I adapt to my environment.  The scientists who studied me when I was a kid called it ‘reactive evolution.’”  Armando shrugs a little, taking a glass of water and passing it to Lilandra. “It makes me really, really hard to damage.”

Alex grins a little.  “So, yeah, he mostly just uses it to survive my cooking, these days.”

Katherine laughs.  “Of course. Still, that’s a fascinating set of powers, and it seems really useful, especially when you two were working with the X-Men.”

“It definitely was.”  Armando moves over toward Alex and gives him a kiss on the cheek, a silent reassurance, and steers the conversation in a different direction.  “So, Scott and Lola are coming a little later?”

“Yes,” Lilandra says.  “Lola was getting very distressed about her outfit, and Scott stayed behind to help her make her choices.”

Katherine nods.  “She told us we should go on ahead, anyway, so that at least  _ we _ weren’t late.”

“I’m sure she’s gonna look fine,” Alex says.  “Did she ever invite Kitty?”

“That’s why she’s having such a hard time picking an outfit,” Katherine says with a smile.  “She wants to impress Kitty.”

“Ah,” Alex says, nodding.  “Well, whenever they get here, they get here.”

 

* * *

_ Whenever _ winds up being about an hour later, and they all arrive at once.  Lola is grinning at Kitty the entire time they come inside.

“So, this is my brother’s place,” she says, gesturing.  “I’ll be honest, I was expecting it to be way more of a disaster zone, given how much of a walking disaster Alex usually is..”

“He actually spent two hours deep-cleaning every surface in the apartment last night,” Armando says, both defending Alex and utterly, utterly throwing him under the bus.  “It’s the cooking he has trouble with, not the cleaning.”

Kitty laughs a little.  “Thanks for inviting me over,” she says.  

“Lola thought you might want to come,” Alex says, moving toward Lola after giving Scott a brief-but-tight hug.  

Armando’s distracted, though, by a mischievous-looking Sean, who is wearing a hat with Santa Elf ears, and smirking as he slides inside.  He grins at Armando and pulls a sprig of mistletoe out of the chest pocket of his coat.

Well, that’s certainly going to lead to some  _ things _ , Armando can’t help but think, as he briefly but sincerely wishes the ground would split open and swallow him up.

He should’ve  _ known _ that Sean was going to do something like that, but apparently, he didn’t.  Alex, meanwhile, hasn’t noticed, wrapped up in greeting the rest of his family as he is.  Hopefully, Sean won’t do anything with it -- though, realistically, hoping for that is hoping in vain.

Armando just hopes it won’t be that bad.

 

* * *

 

He manages to forget about the mistletoe for most of the evening.  It’s easy, given that he’s got almost all of his favorite people around, so he has plenty else to pay attention to.

The pie is a hit, as is the story about Alex trying his hand at a meat pie, and Alex isn’t even upset at everyone’s teasing.  Armando’s got his arm around Alex, too, for most of it, and that always feels good.

So, neither of them notices the mistletoe until Katherine coughs to hide a laugh.  “Boys,” she says, interrupting her own conversation with Alex. “You might want to look up.”

Armando looks up to see the mistletoe floating several feet above their heads.

“Jean!” Alex says, sounding scandalized.  

“Sean brought it,” Armando interjects, but Jean’s smirk is probably worth the exclamation, anyway.  

Scott twitches out a little smile.  “Now you know what I’ve been having to deal with all December.  Jean and Warren are constantly catching me under mistletoe.”

Armando’s at least glad Scott seems confident enough in his relationship to talk about it now.  That said, he still has  _ this _ to deal with.

He looks at Alex, who is watching him, looking a little apologetic.

Okay, then, looks like he’ll have to take charge with this.  He shifts, getting his other hand on Alex’s waist and pulling him closer, giving him time to pull away if that’s what he wants.

Alex doesn’t, and moments later, they’re kissing.  They haven’t kissed, not for real, since they had to at the ceremony, and it feels...it feels  _ right _ .  And not just because Armando has wanted this since they first started getting to know each other, either -- Alex softens in his arms, his own wrapping around Armando’s neck and pulling him close.

That’s not an act, and the realization hits him hard: Alex means this as much as he does.

He slides one hand up to cup Alex’s face before he pulls back, just a little bit, smiling at him.  Alex smiles back at him, and there’s something almost dazed in his smile, like he hadn’t expected this either.

“Oh my god, guys, get a room,” Lola says, getting their attention.

“Our house has literally two rooms in it,” Alex points out.  “Do you want us to throw you all out?”

Katherine bursts out laughing at that, and Alex turns to her, scandalized again.  “Mom, tell Lola to leave me and my  _ husband _ alone,” he says.  “Or I totally will throw you all out.”

Armando feels his chest fill with warmth, and he laughs, too, as he leans over and kisses Alex’s cheek.  “We can wait ‘til the party’s over, I think,” he teases.

Alex’s blush is deep red, and Armando just has to kiss him again.


End file.
